This invention relates to a vehicle trim panel assembly having an integrally molded electrical circuit with a number of integrally molded electrical connectors.
Vehicles have trim panels mounted to interior surfaces of the body to present a pleasing appearance. As an example, door trim panels are mounted to the interior surface of a door assembly. Typically, vehicle door assemblies include spaced apart inner and outer panels defining a cavity for mounting a window, window regulator, speakers and other mechanical and electrical devices. These devices are installed inside the door cavity through a plurality of access openings provided in the door inner panel.
A door trim panel conceals this interior surface of the door, and is conventionally formed of a rigid panel, such as molded plastic or pressed hardboard. The exterior of the trim panel, which faces the vehicle occupant, is covered with a flexible decorative trim material such as cloth, vinyl, leather and/or carpeting, thereby creating a pleasing appearance to the occupant. The door trim panel is secured to the door by suitable fasteners.
The door trim panel also often supports a number of electrical components. The components may include lights, window controls, rear view mirror controls, door lock controls, seat adjustment controls, and speakers. Each of these electrical components requires an individual wiring connector power supply lead wires and perhaps control wires. The wires are typically bundled together to create what is commonly called a wire harness. The wire harness is fixed to the trim panel or to the door to hold the wire harness. The wire harness is connected to a main wire harness that enters the door cavity near the hinged end of the door. As can be appreciated, the mounting and wiring of these electrical components is labor intensive and requires a number of connectors and other electrical parts.
Solutions to this problem have been contemplated by the prior art. Specifically, it has been proposed that the wires be mounted, molded, etched, printed, or otherwise affixed to a separate rigid board material. The rigid board is in turn mounted to either the trim panel or the door or both. Hence, in these proposals, the door assembly includes the door itself, a rigid board, and the trim panel. These proposals, however, have a number of deficiencies. One deficiency is the same as with the loose bundle of wires, that is, a significant amount of intensive manual labor is required to mount the wires to the board, mount the connectors to the board, and then mount the board itself to either the trim panel or the door. Further, additional connectors must be mounted on the board to electrically connect the connectors from the door to the connectors on the trim panel.
Copending applications Ser. No. 09/053,395 entitled "Trim Panel with Integrally Formed Electrical Circuits" and filed Apr. 1, 1998, and Ser. No. 09/085,986 entitled "Trim Panel Having Grooves with Integrally Formed Electrical Circuits" and filed May 27, 1998, disclose a method of forming the circuits on the trim panel. With the methods disclosed in their applications there is a need to improve the formation of the electrical connectors.